Bowen hospital cuts five jobs

The Mackay Hospital Health Service (MHHS) has defended a decision to axe five positions from the Bowen Hospital in north Queensland.

MHHS chief executive Kerry McGovern says the Bowen facility is overstaffed and needs to operate within its budget.

He says there is no option but to reduce the number of staff currently on the payroll.

Mr McGovern has confirmed five positions, including two nurses, will go under the staffing review.

"I wouldn't actually say it's balancing the books ... but we've got a certain level of activity in the hospital and we've got far too many resources in there for the amount of activity that we're doing," he said.

"We can't generate activity that's not there."

He says the health board is continuing to seek feedback on the changes.

"We're only actually in the consultation phase of this ... we're looking for feedback to what the staff and what the unions will feed back to us," he said.

"But at this stage we're not looking at doing anything until well into mid-January at least."

'Devastated'

Together spokesman Dolph Lossberg says union groups are limited in what they can do to change the decision.

He says concerned residents from Bowen and Collinsville should speak out.

"Get on a bandwagon, go to the their local member, their local mayor and say 'you've got to stop this', they're they only ones that can stop this," he said.

"Unions can march up and down the street but we can't stop anything that they've now gone and put in process."

Mr Lossberg says the board is moving too quickly.

"As a Queenslander I'm just devastated," he said.

"As someone who lives in regional Queensland, every day this LNP Government, the people they've got in place doing these sackings - it just amazes me.